Intro Log || Third Time's the Charm

[melodiesmods]

Characters: All the "Heroes of Light" (only new characters can start threads).
Where: Aqures Ixen.
When: The 5th of November. The new Heroes of Light will awaken early in the morning.
Summary: The new Heroes of Light awaken in Aqures Ixen and are informed by their assigned Moogles of what the situation and what their destinies are. This a log for them to react to the situation, meet each other and be welcomed by the former batches of Heroes of Light. For the first time since it all began, it seems they are the first batch not to have any sort of problems: small miracles?
Warning: N/A

Where you were or what you were doing— It does not really matter. Not any more. Within an instant, the world around you collapses. Reality twists and shatters... Or maybe you are the one who is collapsing and shattering away from reality as you knew it. No matter what the answer is, it will only take a few seconds for you to find yourself sinking into a void, your world vanishing into the distance. There is nothing but darkness as far as the eye can see. Even you feel different: all the powers you might once have had, are now gone. It is silent, cold and it feels as though life itself is slipping out of you.

At this moment, when it looks as though nothing but a never-ending void awaits you, a red Crystal forms before you. In this void, its warmth compels you to grab it. Upon doing so, you can hear a soft, soothing voice speaking:


"Wake up."

Soon, the void itself vanishes and is replaced by distant noises of engines. Had it all been nothing more than a dream? The soothing voice repeats its call one more time, but is soon replaced with a much less graceful "Wake up Kupo." Hand clutched on your Crystal, the call of the Moogle may finally wake you up. But you are no longer in your world, nor in the void. You are before the Crystal of Fire, in the third district of a city called Aqures Ixen. At this point, you may realize the engine noise actually originates from an Airship flying low over the city and headed to dock beneath the castle. As if it wasn't strange enough, your clothes have changed as well. They are now a reflection of the Jobs you are wielding. Last but not least, you are surrounded by Moogles, small and fluffy creatures who are more than happy to tell you about everything you want to know, about your 'destiny' as a Hero of Light, about what awaits you.

Or at least, they will tell you everything they do know, which isn't much in the end.

The only people around you are like you-- There are quite a few of them, all clothed in their Job garbs and most likely wondering what is happening. If somehow you do not realize it, the Moogle who woke you up will be more than happy to inform you there are others like you around. In fact, there are other Heroes who arrived these past months too and they will come soon! Like you, they had Jobs and a Crystal-- And you do have your Crystal too, great news!

If asked, the Moogles will mention some "disastrophic" event that happened last month and involved disappearing crystals, heroes of light falling sick and killing each other. Sure sounds like a lovely place to be in! Thankfully it's all over now. Right?


The Other Heroes
— Shortly Thereafter —
Thanks to the efficiency of Mognet, it does not take long for the other Heroes to come around: those who arrived in this world months ago. You may have imagined heroic and charismatic figures when your Moogle told you that there were other Heroes of Light in this city. You may have imagined persons with fearsome powers when they told you about how they fiercely battled each other past month. And more importantly, you may have imagined them as people who would have all the answers to your, doubtlessly, numerous questions.

If so, you may be up for a minor disappointment. Still, for the most part they know more than you on the situation and may be more than happy to fill you in, especially if your Moogle didn't tell you much.


Celebrations
— Anytime —
The 'Halloween' decorations are long gone now, but given the impending death threat that floated over the city a couple days ago, the celebrations for the Night of the Thirteen Moogles were all cancelled. Fear not, for people have decided to hold mini-celebrations over the city today to compensate for what's been missed. It's not that much, but there are stands and banquets, especially by the 9nth and 11th District where you can find all sort of food and especially candies: tons of candies that were, unfortunately, not used on the 31st of October. But at least it's a paradise for children who come and go with their hands full of candies.

Oh, and there are a lot of Kupo Nuts as well. Though, most Moogles do not seem to be in particularly high spirits, so they're pretty neglected, for the first and probably last time.


The City of Aqures Ixen
— Anytime —
There are a lot of things left to do in the city, especially for newcomers. A 20:00, a BLitzball game will take place at the stadium located in the tenth district, opposing the Teams of Esdham and Aqures. Earlier at 16:00, a few groups of Triple Triad players are playing: one before Mognet Office in the ninth district next to the celebrations, another near the Blitzball Stadium in the 10th District. And of course, they are more than happy to teach the rule to anyone passing by. Characters are free to enter and play games of Triple Triad, and if they do so they will be given very basic cards and explained the rules. This may be the start of a promising career!

Characters are also free to visit the city-- Mognet Office just behind the Triple Triad games is filled with very busy Moogles, especially now that Mognet just started again after a closed down period. They can also visit Airship Port in the twelfth district from where characters can board for free Airships from Shoopuf Airline. It's in the process of re-opening after having been closed for most of past month, and the next airship departing from Aqures Ixen will do so on the 9th.

Or maybe you could visit your new house in the 11th District, and get to know your new neighbors and housemate. Hopefully your neighbors are people you will get along with.

Comments

[red_planet_blues]

Mercury was indeed a good guy. Sure, dumb as a brick, but a friendly and loyal horse nonetheless.

"Yeah, I guess he is." No sarcasm this time, surprisingly, but he does mutter it quietly too. "Who knows, maybe one day there'll be a Job class for it. The... Squirrel Whisperer or somethin'. I dunno. On second thought that's a dumb idea for a Job class. Not really good in a fight."

[nankurunaisa]

"Job class? W-wait, Kathy told me about those..."

It takes her a moment to remember what they are, but then she gets the complete wrong idea about what he's saying.

"W-wait! Why would you want a job like that?! Why would you fight squirrels? They don't hurt people!"

[red_planet_blues]

"No, I didn't say they would, it was just-- It ain't even a job so don't even worry 'bout it." He waves it off with a hand. Clearly that was a bad example.

"I can't tell ya how it works, cuz uh, powers or whatever ya wanna call 'em ain't a thing where I'm from. Sorta. But I've heard plenty of other people talk about losin' theirs. Heck, I can't even shoot straight anymore since the Jobs I got ain't got anythin' to do with guns. It's pretty dumb."

[nankurunaisa]

"Alright...I won't worry about it this time." But she files it away in the back of her mind that this man might not be friendly to animals—he's insulted his horse and talked about fighting with squirrels. He could be dangerous.

Luckily, the events of the day have left her a bit weary and she doesn't want to push it while she has a nice horse in front of her.

"W-wait, can you slow down? You...can't shoot anymore because you took on a new job? That doesn't make any sense. Shooting is shooting, right?"

She's fired a stage-gun before, so she's not as alarmed or uncomfortable as she could be.

[red_planet_blues]

"Don't make any sense either. I was one 'a the fastest draws on Mars. I just switched up my Job to Magitek Knight, so I got that weird gun-sword thing. But hey, I can shoot again. Kinda." Still not as good as he used to be, but he'd take it. Better than nothing.

"Whatever Jobs ya take apparently replace old skills ya had. Seems kinda like a backwards way of doin' stuff if ya ask me."

[nankurunaisa]

She continues to pat the horse, but then her hand slows to a stop and she laughs a little.

"That's funny, for a second there it sounded like ya said "Mars" or somethin'."

[red_planet_blues]

"Uh, it's cuz I did? Sparks Nevada, marshal on Mars. But technically, I'm...

...from Earth."

Who knew what that pause was about. But it seemed like that might have been for emphasis.

[nankurunaisa]

"You...you're from Mars and Earth?! How is that even possible?"

Wait a second. She looks at the horse again.

"Is this why your horse is dressed up like a robot?!"

[red_planet_blues]

"Huh? No, I'm from Earth. But I live on Mars. I'm the marshal there." What's so hard to get about this?

Now he looks even more confused. "'Dressed up'? He ain't dressed up. He is a robo-- er, cyborg. He's a rocket steed. Pretty normal where I'm from."

[nankurunaisa]

"But...how do you live on Mars? There isn't anything there! ...Is there?"

Has the government been lying to her...?

"W-wait, a...cyborg? Like with missiles and cannons....?"

[red_planet_blues]

"I think the Martians that were there for a long time might argue with ya." So far, no one else has come from a world that has life on Mars. Other than his friends from the red planet as well that showed up here. But he's had to explain this too much already.

He shakes his head at those worried questions. Sparks pats Mercury on the side, and hatches above his back legs open up, and out pop two small rocket engines.

"Not them kinda rockets. These. He's for travelin'."

[nankurunaisa]

"There...there are martians, too?! Since when!? When did this all happen?!"

Her first mistake is obviously assuming they come from the same world—Hibiki looks like she's ready to shout at this point, and she's already loud.

"W-wait, and...it doesn't hurt him, does it? He's okay with it, right?"

[red_planet_blues]

"Since...a long time? So right now I'm thinkin' we probably come from really different times or really different worlds. And yeah, of course he's okay with it. Why wouldn't he be?"

Most people here just thought the rocket steed was interesting. No one's really given Sparks a hard time about it before. Mercury looks fine and happy, at least.

[nankurunaisa]

"I dunno why he wouldn't be. I don't know how the metal parts work and all that. He seems really happy, though, so I guess you're doing something right."

Even if she can't talk to animals quite right, she can still tell how they're doing almost immediately.

"...I really wish I'd never heard of different worlds. Now everything is just going to be confusing."

[red_planet_blues]

"Ya ain't got much of a choice. Ya ain't just hearin' about one, you're in one. Takes some gettin' used to. But hey, if yer lucky, maybe someone ya know might show up later. Or may already be here. Weirder things've happened. Trust me."

[nankurunaisa]

"The first one doesn't count! I meant aside from this one!" She crosses her arms, leaving Mercury alone for the first time since the conversation started. "I don't know if I'd even wish this upon my worst enemy...is there something good about being here? 'Cause it sounds strange to me still."

[red_planet_blues]

"Uuuhhh..." Sparks has to think on that one. He's clearly struggling. "Well, the food ain't bad. Neither's the booze, but yer a little young for that. Um... they got seasonal weather? Been awhile since I seen that, myself. The crime rate's pretty low in this city. Makes my job kinda boring, though."

[nankurunaisa]

"The crime rate is low...that's probably because everyone is fighting monsters instead, huh." She turns that into a negative pretty quickly, then reaches out to pat Mercury again. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, I guess. I guess I'll just have to find something good myself."

[red_planet_blues]

"Actually, most folk here're pretty normal. I mean, they don't get crystals like we do, where we can switch around jobs 'n stuff. They get one for life, and then they're stuck with it. They ain't 'heroes', just, uh, people, I guess. We're the ones who get to play dress-up and slay monsters. Who knows, maybe we'll be famous someday."

Sparks actually sort of like that idea. Being a famous lawman on not one, but two planets? Sounds good to him.

this is my favorite tag in the game so far but it's so dumb

[nankurunaisa]

"A-about that, I'm actually already famous."

She rubs the back of her neck, looking kind of proud of herself for a second, her problems completely forgotten.

i'm glad anyway

[red_planet_blues]

The marshal looks unimpressed. "Not in this time 'n place. I mean, I pretty much am too back on Mars."

No need to mention that Mars has a pretty small population. And that once he was kidnapped by fans who tried to kill him.

"What's it ya famous for?"

she's so stupid she forgot she was disappointed

[nankurunaisa]

That kind of stings, but she stands up just a bit straighter. This is one of the things that she can be prideful about.

"I'm a singer! And a dancer. I can pretty much do everythin', nankurunaisa!"

Sparks isn't exactly the encouraging type either

[red_planet_blues]

"Huh. Well. I know they got, like, the theater scene here I think, so uh, I guess ya ain't totally outta luck there.

...Nanakuru-whatsa? What what that?"

I've noticed!

[nankurunaisa]

"Hehe~! Lucky! There might be something here I'm really good at, then! I've never had a Floogle as a performing partner, though."

And where is her Moogle? Well, she's probably ditched her. For now.

"What're you famous for? Horse stuff?"

Re: I've noticed!

[red_planet_blues]

"'Horse stuff', what? No, I'm famous as the marshal on Mars. I'm the planet's only lawman, and I'm good at it, so, y'know. Pretty famous for it."

He seems pretty confident in this fact, if his smug expression has anything to say about it.